


Under Your Skin

by shimmersinner



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe: Tattoo Parlor and Library, Civilian!Steve, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Shyness, Tags Subject to Change, Tattoo Artist!Steve, Trans Character, Veteran!Bucky, librarian!bucky
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2020-03-09 04:34:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18909664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shimmersinner/pseuds/shimmersinner
Summary: Bucky’s favorite day in the library is Thursday.Thursday was ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ when all the children gathered around the magic of a local queen to be read a book and sometimes the queens would take pictures with the children, which was the cutest thing he had ever seen. Thursday was also food truck day at the park across the street, so he could eat as many $1 tacos as his body could hold and drink as much pineapple juice as he could stand. But what he most enjoyed on Thursday was the small, blond, and handsome patron who came in without fail and made himself at home in a nook near the art reference materials.





	1. A Little Curious

Bucky’s favorite day in the library is Thursday.

Thursday was ‘Drag Queen Story Time’ when all the children gathered around the magic of a local queen to be read a book and sometimes the queens would take pictures with the children, which was the cutest thing he had ever seen. Thursday was also food truck day at the park across the street, so he could eat as many $1 tacos as his body could hold and drink as much pineapple juice as he could stand. But what he most enjoyed on Thursday was the small, blond, and handsome patron who came in without fail and made himself at home in a nook near the art reference materials.

The blond would tuck his knees under him in the chair, poking his toes through the gap between the back and the bottom, and dive into a stack of books too high to see over. Armed with a set of pens and markers and a well worn sketchbook, this person furrowed his brow and chewed his lip over composition and smiled brightly when he drew something satisfactory. Not that Bucky had acquired this information from watching the man work every Thursday for the last 2 months. That would be weird. 

“James, can you do me a favor?” Darcy’s voice cut through the haze of intrigue and made Bucky tense and take a deep breath. “Oh, I’m sorry! Did I.. uh… scare? You?” Darcy was the VA support coordinator at this branch of the library and had hired Bucky the moment she met him, despite his less than friendly demeanor. She was cheery and sarcastic and though they had only been working together for a year, Bucky found himself considering her a friend. Even if she still called him James. 

Bucky sighed and let the exhalation take with it the anxiety. “Yeah, I’m fine, Darcy, just a little wound up. What do you need?” Darcy gave him a critical once-over and once she was satisfied he wasn’t lying, she continued.

“Well, I need someone to carry this very big, very heavy box of juice and cookies to the reading room because I can’t do it and the moms wanna oogle you a little more.” Darcy smirked and went back to stapling and stacking some papers. “Maybe take off your sweater and let them see your tattoos?” Darcy looked positively distraught at the idea of carrying such a large box of food to the second floor of the library.

Bucky rolled his eyes and scoffed. “I’m not taking off my sweater so some desperate housewife types can harass me with their eyes. I don’t think I’m stepdad material. And I… don’t want to scare the kids.” he murmured, clenching and flexing his metal hand. While he was grateful to the enhancement to his quality of life, Bucky was still a little hesitant about letting people see his Stark arm, all sleek and shiny and intimidating. His niece ran from him when she saw the arm for the first time and that was enough for him to never show it to another child. Although Becca tried her best to reassure him that Ava was just nervous to see him again after 4 years of being gone, he could shake the feeling that it was because of his less than human attributes.

“Oh please!” Darcy scoffed with soft eyes, understanding of Bucky’s anxiety, but trying to lighten the mood, “Do you know how cool it would be to have a super soldier robo stepdad? My stepdad was a used car salesman. And he sucked!” Bucky laughed and rolled his eyes, making his way towards the boxed snacks. It was admittedly heavy for someone of Darcy’s size and stature, but it certainly didn’t require ex-Marine strength.

“Darcy, I am not a super soldier. I just have a prosthetic that happens to be made of metal. Besides, if I was a super soldier, I probably would have be able to keep the original arm!” Bucky snarked as he hefted the box of snacks into his arms and made his way past the mysterious and artsy blond and into the room of giggling children. He set up the table and politely smiled at the over enthusiastic “thank yous” of the adults in the room. It was nice to feel appreciated, but the purring of lusty house moms telling him he was “so helpful and considerate” was not exactly on Bucky’s wishlist.  

As he backed out of the room quickly, Bucky heard a soft and polite “Excuse me”. Spinning around on his heels, he was face to face --more accurately chest to face-- with the blond artist.

“Oh!” Bucky almost jumped out of his skin and took two too large steps back. “Uh, yes? I mean, do you… need help?” 

Wow. Eloquent. 

A large flush spread over Bucky’s face and he rubbed the back of his neck with his flesh hand. The small blond was wearing a grey slouch beanie and a loose green henley, contrasting with his pallor. Bucky was drawn to the top of a tattoo peeking out between his collarbones, curious about the rest of the picture.

The smaller man smiled and quirked his eyebrow. “Are you sure you can help me?” Bucky huffed and stood up straighter, facing his embarrassment with the bravery he would reserve for a life threatening situation. 

“Yes, I can help. What do you need?” Bucky’s stony facade was ruined by his unwillingness to make eye contact and the searing blush still present over his cheeks. The blond smirked and held up a book to Bucky.

“I know this is an anthology, but I can’t find the second edition. Can you look it up for me?”

“Absolutely!” Bucky answered a little too quickly. “Can I, ah, have your name to confirm the library membership?”

“What, you don’t know my name? I’m a regular here!” the frown that crossed the blond’s face was enough to drain the color from Bucky. Upon seeing the panic Bucky was diving into, the shorter man put on a weak smile. “I’m just kidding! I, uh, I’m not super good at jokes. I’m Steve Rogers.”

Steve Rogers. The object of Bucky’s observation finally had a name. 

Bucky found infinite interest in this mismatched fingers as he typed the name into his computer station and found the name of his patron in the membership database.

“Are you ‘S. Rogers, 7/4/1992’?” Bucky asked, clearing his throat and looking up, just in time to catch Steve playing with his tongue ring. She sound of metal clicking against teeth made Bucky acutely aware of the similar sound his metal fingers would make if they were sucked on. Gasping to himself and looking away quickly, he felt the blood flush from his chest to his face.

“Sure am! Steve Rogers, All American Boy.” Steve takes the chance to throw a lazy salute Bucky’s way. Bucky instinctively stands up a little straighter and throws a salute right back. Steve lifted his eyebrow and the corners of his lips lifted into a pleased smirk.

“Sargent James B. Barnes, retired Marine and currently very awkward librarian.” Bucky offered with a straight face still painted in a blush. Steve grinned again and held out his hand to be shaken. Bucky took Steve’s small hand with the human hand and gave a sturdy shake Bucky was almost thrilled at the softness of Steve’s hands that he gave the thinner arm a pump too many.

“Oof, strong shake you got there, James!” Steve smirked and laughed when Bucky muttered his apology. “So, my book?”

“Oh! Yeah, I can grab it for you. It’s, uh, a little up high.” Bucky coughed, shuffling with intent through the stacks to the place where the book could be found. Skimming the spines of each book with his metal fingers until he found what he was looking for, he pulled it gingerly out of its place and scanned the bar code with the palm of his hand, a neat trick he learned from the app he has connected to his arm.

Steve’s eyes were kind and curious as he observed Bucky’s actions, but he didn’t ask about them. There is really no polite way of asking someone about their cool prosthesis. Bucky handed the book down to Steve and pulled his lips into a tight smile, just on the edge of a grimace.

“You don’t have to go back up to the front. I already scanned it so you can keep working.” Bucky’s metal arm whirred and re-calibrated, a subtle nod to his anxiety in the moment. Steve smiled and tucked the book under his arm. 

“That’s real kind, James, but I actually gotta get back to the shop. I have a couple consultations.” Steve grinned when Bucky’s mouth turned pouty, “But I’ll be back next week, big guy. No need to look so solemn.” Bucky straightened up and hardened his face, eyes still gloomy. Steve was amused, seeing the battle hardened face lock into a pout and admitted to himself that it was cute. 

“I, uh… I just like watching you work, is all.” Bucky muttered. Where this sudden honesty came from, he didn’t know. But there was something about Steve that made him want to talk more. Steve sighed happily and tilted his head, like a parent placating a child.

“You could always see me work if you swing by the shop.” Steve offered. “It’s Shield Ink on Anglewood. It ain’t far. Or, y’know, if you’re real busy and can’t swing by, follow me on Instagram. Here, follow yourself on my insta and I’ll follow you back!” Steve pulled out his phone and offered it up to Bucky. Bucky frowned at the phone and handed it back to Steve.

“I don’t... do a lot of social media. I don’t even think I know what Instagram is, honestly. Didn’t do a lot of socializing when I got home” Bucky muttered again with a weak smile. “But, I can write it down and look it up later.”

“Absolutely! Let’s go to my table and I’ll give you one of my cards.”

The walk to the table seems entirely too short as Bucky was enamored with Steve explaining his work as a tattoo artist. Bucky wanted more time listening to Steve talk about, well, really anything. 

“Here ya go!” Steve handed Bucky a card with the Shield Ink logo on it and on the back, he had written his name and a smiley face. “If you do end up getting an Instagram, my username is ‘steveinksNYC’. Maybe we can talk more not in a library, since, y’know, we’re not supposed to be talking.” Steve packed up his messenger bag and tucked his books under arms crossed his chest. There was a hint of pink across his cheeks as he turned his eyes up to see Bucky’s soft and nervous smile.

“Yeah… Yeah, that would be really nice, Steve.”

“Welp, see ya, James!” As Steve turns on his heels to walk towards the exit, Bucky blurts out, unable to help himself:

“ _ Bucky _ !”

“Excuse me?” 

“Uh, my friend’s call me Bucky so… yeah. Call me Bucky.” Muttering awkwardly, Bucky pulled his metal arm across his torso and stuck out his flesh hand for another handshake. Steve smiled warmly and took the hand again, pumping his arm thrice before releasing. Upon his exit, Bucky took a deep breath and marched to the front desk with a new determination.

Darcy’s eyes caught Bucky’s posture and she locked eyes with him as he pulled his out his phone and slammed it on the front desk with a little more force than necessary.

“Darcy, I need your help. I need to learn how to use Instagram. Please.”

* * *

Steve bounced excitedly down the sidewalk on his way into the shop. It wasn’t everyday that you meet someone who literally makes you swoon. 

But Bucky? 

Bucky was one of those people. 

With his large figure, smothered under modest sweaters and a loose collar button down, it was almost like someone reached into Steve’s dreams and dropped his fantasy into the world. Sure, it’s a little objectifying, but honestly Steve was just looking at Bucky like any artist would. His cool grey eyes and stubbled jaw led down into his broad chest made Steve swoon a little more than he would like to admit.

“Honey, I’m home!” Steve called into the quiet shop. Today was appointment day, so the usual foot traffic was a little lighter than it normally is. Tony is posted up at the front desk, tinkering with some unknown electronic.

“Welcome home, Cap!” Tony grunts, zapping himself lightly with whatever he had laid out. “How was your homework?”

“It went well. I met someone really nice and-”

Peggy comes sauntering out of the back room in that moment, smirk stretched across her bright red lips. Peggy was the shop's aficionado on all things sailor Jerry and rockabilly. Her tattoo style was clean and classic, much like her personality. One thing no one could ever accuse Peggy Carter of is being a mess. From her sharp eyeliner to her sharper heels, she was the definition of femme fatale. 

“Steven, did you just say you made a friend?”

“No, Margaret,” Steve rolled his eyes and started unpacking his bag at his drawing table. “I just said I met someone nice.” Steve’s table was tucked away in a corner of the shop by the back door, littered with drawings and doodles and fairy lights and nonsense. “Were they nice and hot or…?” Tony dropped his toy and leaned over the counter with more attention than he had probably ever paid anything in his life. “Steve Rogers is notoriously bad at making friends.”

“I’m not bad at it I just-” Steve stammers, blushing.

“You’re horrible at it.” Peggy deadpans.

“You’re blushing! They must be hot!” Tony gasps “Tell me everything!”

Steven groans and opens his sketchbook to his current project and grabs some stencil paper. 

“There isn’t a lot to tell! His name is James and he works at the library. He helped me find a book and he is conventionally attractive, speaking as an artist.”

“Ooh, Steve’s hot for librarian?” Tony snickered, waggling his pierced eyebrows. “Steven and James, sitting in the stacks! F-U-C-K-I-N-Gack!” Peggy smacked Tony in the back of the head and huffed. 

“Anthony, please.” she chided gentle before dawning a wicked smirk of her own “Steven would take him home and cook for him first. Then they can shag.”

Steve rolled his eyes at Tony’s guffawing laughter and flipped them off. “Guys, I literally just met the man. And I think I scared him. He’s.. shy. But he likes watching me work. so that nice?” Steve flipped on the light of his tracing table and set to work on a piece for client, but not without Peggy sitting her ass on the corner of his table. 

“Oh no, Steven, darling. We are going to talk more about this.” Peggy turned off the light under his table and smiled. “I want a detailed account of the event!” Steve pinched her hip and made he hop of the desk then turned the light back on, laying out his materials, ignoring Peggy calling him names.

“Well, I go to the library every Thursday to do a little reference drawing, you know? So today I couldn’t find the 2nd edition of that light and values textbook I like so I decided to ask for help. He just so happen to be there so I let him help me.”

“And what does he look like, Steven?” Tony asked in a mock British accent. “Is he right cracking? Chuffed? A spot of tea on a dreary day of the Queen?”

Peggy scoffed and smacked Tony in the head again, but this time with a little more intention. Steve rolled his shoulder back and relaxed into the poor posture that he usual drew in. He pulled his glasses off the edge of the table and put them on, his small face swallowed by the thick frames.

“You really wanna see him? Go the library your damn self.” Steve muttered, sinking into his artist head space.

“Is that an invitation, Steve?” Tony leered, making a move to grab his coat from the back of the couch in the lobby. “Because you know I love a good field trip.” 

“I have been feeling a little restless… I’d fancy a walk.” Peggy says coolly, tapping her cherry red lips with a perfectly manicured nail. Tony lifted his eyebrows at Peggy for silent confirmation that the plan was to sneak up on Steve’s hot librarian.

“Oh yes! A nice,  _ long _ walk to the library!” Tony added, emphasizing the length of the walk. 

“Oh, no you don’t!” Steve barked playfully “Tony, you are the only piercer in house today. You’re not leaving ‘til the sign says closed, buddy.”

“B-but Dad!”

“No ‘buts’! You said you would cover for Wanda, so you’re covering her whole shift.”

“God fucking damnit.”

“Language!”

“Oh, get FUCKED, Rogers!”

“Tony, I swear to- where is Peggy?”

Just as Steve asked the question, he got a text from the bombshell that read _‘gone walking! ta!'_

Well, shit.


	2. Peggy and the Ferocious Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy goes to the library and Darcy gets aggressive!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is significantly shorter than I anticipated because life kicked me in the sternum this week, but thank you all for the kind responses and kudos! I appreciate the commentary and really hope y'all enjoy (:

Peggy shook the chill out of her skirt when she stepped into the warm lobby of the library. Her mission was simple: lay her eyes on this James fellow and dress him down a little, if time permitted. She and Steve had been friends and lovers and friends once more the majority of their lives. She didn’t want anything bad to happen to Steve, especially at the hands of a pretty man.

After all, Steve was weak to pretty people. That’s how Peggy gets out of half of her cleaning duty in the shop!

There was a tall, well-built man with his hair tucked up into a tidy, but lopsided bun who seemed to fit the description Steve had given her over text before he threatened to end their friendship if she scared James.

Now she just needed to get his attention.

“Excuse me, love. Do you have a bit?” Peggy purred, leaning over the counter, framing her bosom with her inked arms. Bucky looked up and was met with an eyeful of breasts. He choked on his own spit and made eye contact with Peggy, clenching his jaw and… glaring?

That wasn’t what Peggy expected.

“Yes, ma’am. How can I help you?” Bucky said in a tight monotone, eyes shifting back down to his work restamping book dates. He wasn’t just ignoring her, but he was  _ actively _ avoiding looking at her. Which meant he wasn’t a creep who would stare at her chest, but he also didn’t seem very friendly. Peggy huffed and leaned back, leaving her hands on the counter.

He got points for being gentlemanly, only to lose them for being rude.

“Just coming in for a friend of mine. He seems to think he left his pencil case at the reference corner.” Bucky’s head snapped to attention and met Peggy’s mischievous brown eyes with his own, wide and gray. 

“Um, a… a pencil case? Is your friend shorter and blond?”

“And frighteningly adorable? Afraid so. Can you help me?”

That one made Bucky blush.

Just as Bucky stood up to help, Darcy comes behind the front counter and smirks.

“James, you do look mighty busy” Darcy threw an appreciative glance over Peggy’s body, paying extra attention to Peggy’s chest and bit her lip. “And I could help you! I mean unless you came here for James, specifically.”

“How kind of you…” Peggy leaned into the question.

“Darcy!” she stuck out her hand for a dainty shake and smirked when Peggy turned over her hand and tutted at the old ink on her wrist. There say in her skin a blown out, poorly colored lotus flower with some wayward vines. Peggy brought the wrist a little closer to her face and Darcy blushed hotly. James observed the situation quietly, but with mirth in his eyes. 

_ How does it feel to be ‘oogled’, huh? _

“Well, Darcy it is lovely to meet you. And I am interested in James’s help currently, but if you would ever like to see me a little longer, maybe you could let me touch up your tattoo.” Peggy opened her clutch and handed Darcy a sleek black card with pretty red cursive. “When you call the shop, ask for Miss Carter.”

“Uh, yes ma’am?” Darcy gaped, the usual overconfidence knocked out of her sails. Peggy turned to Bucky and made a noncommittal noise, indicating she was ready to go. Bucky shuffled around the corner and strode past Peggy to take the lead walking to the reference corner. In usual situations, she would be upset to be passed in such a manner, but her view was worth it.

James the librarian had one of the nicest asses she had ever seen.

They arrive in the corner at the desk Steve usually sits at and Bucky sets to the task, asking  the patron there if he can take a look around for a missing item. The person nods and moves their things so Bucky can slide under the table and root around, one more giving Peggy an almost lewd view of that ass. Bucky reemerged without finding the pencil case and mumbled an apology to the person sitting there and thanked them for moving. 

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t find what your friend left,” Bucky muttered, worrying his sleeve with his metal fingers. “If someone returns it, we can give you a call if you leave us a number.”

“How did you know exactly where Steve sits?” Peggy abruptly asks.

“Umm, he comes here pretty frequently.” Bucky muttered, looking down guiltily, “And I helped him with a book today.”

“Are you stalking him? He is rather small and kidnappable.” 

Bucky’s eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched again. He straightened his posture and looked gave Peggy a look that would level most normal people. But Peggy was not most normal people and gave Bucky a withering glance of her own.

“Ma’am, did you come here to retrieve your friend’s belongings, or did you come here to ask me questions?”

“I can multitask, so, both.” Peggy snarked.

“Well, I’m not interested in answering your questions, and I didn’t find what you were looking for, so I believe you should take your leave. Please.” Bucky’s jaw flexed again, but his eyes were… softer. Almost sad or guilty. It was exactly Peggy’s intention to make him feel bad, but she can see the appeal in those doleful eyes of his. Bucky turned around and marched back to his desk at the front of the library, back ramrod straight and eyes stubbornly forward.

Peggy sighed and rubbed her temple with two fingers. If she wanted Steve to make friends, and maybe finally date someone, she was going to have to work on not scaring them away. Peggy found her way back to the front desk and saw Bucky locked into a different task, eyes down and shoulders small.

“James I-”

“Whoa, whoa, lady!” Darcy rounded the desk with fury in her cheeks. Peggy blinked and stopped in her tracks, startled by the change of tone Darcy had taken with her. “You can leave if you plan to harass the person who tried to help you.”

“That wasn’t my intention, Darcy, I just-”

“You just what? Came here to make accusations about one of the nicest people who work here?” Darcy was small and defiant in front of Peggy. She was not about to let this hot and snide and very hot woman mess with Bucky. Not on her watch.

“Oh for god’s sake, I came to apologize!” Peggy huffed, uncharacteristically pouty, “I came to apologize because I realize I made some assumptions about James.”

Bucky scoffed and kept working.

“I’m just…” Peggy started “Protective of Steven. He’s a bit of a darling and he tends to draw in the wrong type of people.”

“And you assume James is the wrong type of person because?” Darcy questioned, still placing her body between Peggy and the desk. James looked up from his work and furrowed his brow waiting for Peggy’s answer.

Of course, she would think he was a bad person. Hell, she probably knew he was a bad person. Bucky had killed more people than he had helped and in his mind, everyone he met could see it on him; smell it on him. Bucky wasn’t a good man, he was a good soldier. A good sniper with more confirmed kills than hot meals in the desert. Of course, Steve was too good for him. 

Of course.

Bucky’s momentary spiral was broken by Darcy calling his name. His head snapped up and he shook the fog from his eyes, giving her his attention as best as he could.

“Miss Carter here asked you a question, pal.” Darcy drawled, eyes still locked on Peggy.

“Uh, what was the question?” Bucky muttered

“Could I possibly apologize with a coffee?” Peggy asked. He could tell by her lax posture she was sincere, but he didn’t know if he wanted to leave the safety of the library. But also, he wanted to know more about Steve and Peggy was clearly the person he had to go through to get to know more.

“I think I can manage that.”

Peggy and Darcy both gave him an impressed or shocked look, depending on the angle. Bucky smirked and held a new determination in his mind.

He was going to make an Instagram, make friends with Peggy and hopefully be Steve’s boyfriend.

Whoa. Boyfriend? Bucky hadn’t even thought about that word since he got back. Was he even ready for a relationship? He didn’t have time to address his inner monologue before Peggy responded, looking equally eager.

“11:30, right before Lunch and Learn starts.”

“Then I’ll meet you at Cafecito?”

“I believe you will.”

Peggy gave a sharp nod and threw a light ‘ta’ over her shoulder as she walked out of the library.

Darcy looked at James and they shared a bout of laughter. Could this day get any more outlandish?

“James… what the fuck just happened?!” Darcy’s peals of laughter rounded out into a sharp look from the historical records librarian. They stuffed their chuckles into snickers and carried on recategorizing books.

“I don’t know, but I guess I’ve lived a quiet enough life.”

Darcy's eyes softened with a frown. She didn't know a lot about his life before the army and before his working at the library, but she knew it hadn't been easy.

"You deserve a little nice and quiet, James. A little normal."

"I don't know how  normal I can be with a metal arm, Darcy."

"Well, we can start by making you this Instagram you were so set on earlier!"

* * *

Steve blinked at his buzzing phone on the counter, lit up with a notification.

_ "SargeantJBB just followed SteveInksNYC" _

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spare me a comment or some kudos?


	3. I Spy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky makes an Instagram and a friend! Steve is cute and smitten! The boys get one step closer to going on a date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO thank y'all so much for sticking with this. In the time it has taken me to write this chapter I: Went to Cali for a job, started that job and fell into it, came back home and started my school year job, started the grad school hunt, back into my apartment, AND lost the original file this chapter was in. Suffice to say, it's been hectic af but I'm here and I'm working on a more regular schedule! I hope this chapter does something for you. Enjoy!

Back at the shop, Steve was sitting with his client explaining the placement and colors of the tattoo he had drawn for her. Well, he said client as if she wasn’t one of his best friends, but he was trying to be professional here.

“Alright, cut the crap, Rogers.” Natasha rolled her eyes as she looked at his iPad screen. “How much is this gonna run me and how many sessions?”

Steve sighed and put the portfolio over the screen. No need to waste battery on someone who didn’t care to critique the work.

“How about we do $50 an hour, 4 sessions. 1 hour each?” Steve gently suggested. He knew Natasha was going to rebut him, but the last time he didn’t decided for a client, he ended up getting strong armed into a multiple session tattoo for a flat fee of $375.

“Nope. $125 an hour, 2 sessions, 2 hours each.”

“You’re not supposed to raise the price, asshole.” Steve grumbles, shuffling his stencils and tracing paper to the edge of his desk. “And there’s a lot of color in this tattoo and I wanna let your skin rest between sessions. Three sessions minimum.”

“I can do whatever I want, Steve. You should know that better than anyone. Also I’m paying for all the times you bought my drinks and let me use you for practice while I was doing my training for PT and massage therapy.”

“Yeah well… 3 sessions, $100 an hour, 1 and a half hours per session. It’s a pretty experimental piece and you shouldn’t have to pay for me testing things on you.” Steve compromised, knowing he would only charge her half as much. Natasha shrugged and walked away from the consultation couch, Steve not far behind.

Natasha and Steve met in college when Nat was assigned to be his language partner for the one-semester of Russian he took. The two of them became fast friends when their mutual hatred for Brock Rumlow was exposed through a series of heated tweets between the 3 of them on the subject of bathrooms on campus. They compiled their evidence and submitted it to the Social Justice court on campus and blew him and his scumbag frat brothers in HYDRA all the way off-campus.

Now that they’re out of college and adulting, Natasha had a successful massage therapy practice and helps Steve treat his scoliosis and poor posture and years of bad binding in exchange for intricate tattoos. Which, she paid for, of course. She wasn’t a monster.

In short, Natasha was a ride or die for Steve and Steve would die for Natasha.

“Where’s Pegs? Out cruising for victims?” Natasha asked, moving around the consultation table and dropping a $20 into the tip jar on the counter. 

“She’s apparently having coffee with this guy I meet.”

“James?”

“How did you-“ Steve pulled the twenty out of the jar and tried to put it back in Natasha’s pocket when she was distracted with the candy bucket on the bar.

“Tony told me.” Natasha rolled one of the barstools over Steve’s foot so he dropped the bill. He glared at her and rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time. “So, tell me all about him. Don’t leave out the good stuff, I want everything.”

Steve huffed and threw his body onto the couch. 

“Well, his name is James and-”

“Is he hot or nah? Tony said he was hot.” Natasha demanded, pushing Steve to the side and laying his head in her lap. She placed a delicate hand on his sternum, right below his neck and tapped his chin as if he was a disobedient puppy.

“Did you just say the words ‘or nah’ with your real mouth that is attached to your head?”

“You know what I mean!”

“Ugh, fine! Yes, Natasha, he is very attractive and I was going to let him redacted my redacted while I redacted on his redacted!” The majority of this statement was muffled by a pillow snatched from the other side of the couch and shoved into Steve’s face by his own hands. He was embarrassed about it. He was a 25-year-old, well-established tattoo artist with a growing business. He was not supposed to be crushing on this librarian like it was his job!

“Ooh, you only use the word redacted for things you really wanna do someone! This is serious, Steven Daniel Rogers.”

“That’s not my name! And it is bad, Nat. I just wanna draw him and paint him and lick him from head to toe!”

“Wow, how ‘Fantasy’ by Ludacris of you.” Natasha drawled “But the real question is, did you get his number?”

“Oh, well… no. But! I told him he could follow me on Instagram! And he did!” Steve exclaimed and showed Natasha the Instagram notification from his phone. Natasha plucked the phone out of his hands and unlocked it with her fingerprint. “When the fuck did you put your fingerprint in my phone?”

“When you weren’t looking.” Natasha scoffs. “Sergeant Hottie doesn’t have a lot of pictures on this profile. You sure he’s not a creep?”

“Nat! No, he’s not a creep. He just recently got back from Afghanistan, you fucking noodlehead.” Steve groaned, reaching for his phone in a half-hearted attempt to get it back from his best friend and current headache.

“Hmm… Do you think he made the Instagram just to follow you?” Natasha asked again. Steve shrugged and pulled the phone from Natasha’s hand, looking at the 5 pictures posted. One particular picture included Bucky in a short sleeve button up that had a few buttons undone, arms crossed over his broad chest, dog tags nestled in his ample chest hair with the caption, “ _ Did you drink your water today? _ ”, which made Steve laugh.

“If he did, I don’t mind. I just wanna get to know him.” Steve sighed dreamily.

“Intimately. With your mouth. On his-”

“Natasha!”

* * *

Darcy spent the greater part of their afternoon teaching Bucky the ins and outs of social media and gave him more than an earful about his presence on the internet. They slipped out of the front desk area and found an empty study room to use so they could talk without being shushed.

“No wonder your mom calls you like, 3 times a day, James! You only have 8 pictures on your facebook and they’re all from the first month you were home and they were all taken by other people. Would it kill you to take, like,  _ one _ selfie every month? Maybe join one of those military meme groups and recycle something from them so people know you haven’t abandoned society.”

Bucky shrugs noncommittally and continues to scan books with his palm as they pull them out of the overnight return box.

“I’m not much of a selfie person, Darcy. I just… can never get the angle right and sometimes my hair is in the way and my smile is too big.” Bucky muttered. Since coming home with his new limb, he had abstained from taking pictures that were of himself. He has pictures on his phone of his cat, Winter, and his favorite food places and his nieces but none of himself. If he was feeling particularly confident, he would take a picture holding a coffee with his metal hand and send it to the secure folder on his phone. Darcy quickly informed him that the secure folder was for nudes and family secrets and demanded that he take all his metal hand pictures and choose 3 to post for facebook and 2 for Instagram.

“I know you gotta have some good stuff in here somewhere, Barnes! Give it up!” Darcy jeered as she scrolled through the newly unlocked folder. There were some pictures of Bucky’s recovery, with him shirtless and muscles straining to lift his new arm. Darcy promptly saved them to the camera roll and kept scrolling. Pictures of him drinking in the barracks with his friends and pictures from his college graduation, wearing his Masters hood and medals of honor.

Darcy selected a precious few of the pictures and added them to the newly made Instagram and showed Bucky for approval on the captions. Bucky groused at first, asking if he was supposed to hand over the phone every time he wanted to post something. But he when began to understand the ‘nuance’ and ‘panache’ of the captions per Darcy’s lecture, he started to think that was best.

“Darcy, isn’t it gonna look weird if I just front load a bunch of pictures now?” Bucky worried his hair with his fingers and winced when a lock got caught in the plates of his hand.

“No, James. It looks weird if you just follow a person with no pictures whatsoever. Besides, what if he wants to show you off to his friends?”

Bucky blushed and threw more effort into the picture finding endeavor. If Steve wanted to show his Instagram to his friends, he wanted to make sure he was more than prepared for the task. And besides, it wouldn’t kill him to be a little more visible, right?

“Do you have any pictures of your tattoos? You said he’s a tattoo artist, so I feel like that should appeal to him.” Darcy said, thoughtfully scrolling through Steve’s Instagram. 

“I mean, I do but they’re kind of old, They were before I got the Stark arm. Hell, it was before a lost the first one.” Bucky muttered. amazed at the photos his cloud had held on to, even years into the future

Darcy nodded with understanding and went back to writing captions on a sheet of paper and letting Bucky pick which ones he liked the most. Bucky continued scrolling through his phone and found some pictures of him holding his niece when she was a baby. He looked… young. Full of ambition and bright-eyed.

Now, when he looked in the mirror, he saw a lot of things. He saw a 30-year-old veteran. A soldier who made it home. A survivor. But he never thought he would see the happy, smiling, 21-year-old James Barnes who left Indiana for a war he wouldn’t escape whole.

He interrupted his anxious thoughts with a stern internal voice, telling him that he is here now and he can only make his life better in the future. He can’t dwell on the past and expect to move forward.

Bucky shook his head out of the thoughts and jumped back into the process with a renewed vigor. It only took them a few more minutes to set up his profile in a way that he liked. His bio was carefully crafted and well rounded, his grid was a collection of pictures that varied in a tasteful way and he had 20 people he followed, most of them being family and army brothers.

“Darcy, you know this is going to fall apart the minute you're not the one helping me with it, right?” Bucky sighed, looking at the phone with a cocked eyebrow. They closed up the room they were in and made their way back to the front desk to continue on their assigned tasks.

“No, it won’t,” Darcy smirked, opening his reminders app. ‘Post a picture, James!’ was an added task set for every Monday at 3:42 PM and every Thursday at 10:58 AM. “The odd times are so you can’t say it doesn’t fit into your routine. I thought of everything to help you be successful in your social media journey!” Darcy was completely pleased with herself and Bucky gave a weak chuckle at the reminders. Darcy parked herself at the front of the computer and Bucky followed on the adjacent side, quickly being swept up into a barrage of questions from a boy looking for comic books.

It hadn’t been 30 minutes before Bucky received his first round of notifications. All of his family members followed him and liked his pictures. He got a few messages from his brothers in arms and was even followed by some random people he didn’t know. Before he could get overwhelmed with the amount of noise his phone was making, he saw the notification he was waiting for.

_ ‘steveinksnyc followed you!’ _

Bucky was grinning like a fool at his phone screen and almost didn’t catch himself squeezing the device within breaking force. He loosened his grip on the screen and took a deep breath, buzzing with anxiety and, if memory served him correctly, excitement. He walked around the desk to flash his phone at Darcy and she swallowed her inappropriate noise of delight. 

Then the second notification came and Bucky’s heart leapt into his throat.

_ ‘new message from steveinksnyc: hey bucky! thanks for the follow (: when ur free, swing by the shop! 1549 Anglewood Ave. Im here most days until 9 PM.’ _

Darcy was peeking over Bucky’s shoulder and read the message with him, smirking at the screen.

“Ooh, James! You must be one smooth operator to be invited over within the first 20 minutes of a thirst follow. Also… who is Bucky?” 

Bucky startled and glared at Darcy, conveying his need for space at that moment with a look at would have turned Darcy into a smear on the carpet if it was possible. Darcy blinked, unaffected and moved out of Bucky’s personal space.

“Bucky is what friends and family call me. I use James when I’m in professional settings because it just sounds better. Also, can you please stop standing behind me like that? I don’t want to brain you on accident!” Bucky snapped, running his fingers through the top of his hair. 

“You’re not going to brain me, James. You have a lot of self-control and you’re doing really well with your reactions. Wait, do you still want me to call you James at work or are we not friends?” Darcy moved to stand in front of Bucky with her arms across her chest, tucking her cardigan tighter around her body. She looked him in the eye, but seemed insecure at that moment, thinking about her friendship with Bucky, if it even existed.

With a mighty sigh, Bucky slumped against the front desk and frowned. He liked Darcy. She was nice and dealt with all his grumpy bullshit and texted him in the mornings to ask if he wanted coffee and talked him down from panic attacks in the private study rooms. She deserved to be treated as a friend. Because she was his friend.

“I’m sorry, Darcy,” Bucky muttered. He made the effort to  “It never occurred to me that I was locking you out of being my friend by not telling you my nickname. I… like to be called Bucky. Hell, I prefer it to James, to be honest.”

A wide and bright smile stretched across Darcy’s mouth and she wrinkled her nose in amusement. 

“Well, since we are officially friends, I need to remove you from my liaison list for the VA, and then we need to start planning your outfit for this tattoo parlor date!”

“Wait, this is a date?” 

“Not explicitly, but you can’t look a hot mess in the event he asks you to dinner later. We’re gonna pick out something handsome and non-threatening for you to wear that shows off your shoulders and ass and you are going to watch that cute little dude make some art!” Darcy was so matter-of-fact in the way she said it that Bucky didn’t register that she made a comment about his ass. 

Bucky got another ‘ping!’ from his phone and opened a second message from Steve.

_ ‘Also heres my number so u can call/txt me when ur on ur way. I dont usually open my insta for messages, so i wanna make sure i notice when u send me something <3 212-555-1918’  _

Bucky smiled shyly and saved the number into his phone, naming the contact ‘Steve the Artist’.


	4. Ready or Not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tattoos and Pasta and Boba, oh my!
> 
> Thank you all for patience as I try to get my life and my writing schedule down! In this chapter, our sweet boys take the next step: texting each other regularly!

The texting thing starts off a little rough.

Bucky wasn’t used to having someone texting him other than his family members, so he wasn’t sure how to adjust. He very much wanted to talk to Steve. He wanted it very badly, but sometimes he would get some in his head about the response and by the time he was ready to respond, Steve was most assuredly already in bed or busy with a client. Bucky had approached Darcy in a panic more than once to ask about his messages and if they were appropriate. Darcy would always scoff and shoo him away, telling him that if she wrote the messages, she would ask him out and how he likes his eggs.

Steve, on the other hand, was having a very hard time not double or triple texting Bucky and overwhelming him. He was so interested in learning more about the handsome, older man that it never occurred to him that not everyone has a 100% social meter that was equipped with space for nonstop socializing. Nat had taken his phone on multiple occasions to keep Steve from sending Bucky  _ another _ text in a 3 minute period.

The dance they did around one another was a complicated waltz of anxiety and overeager badgering. They would like each other’s pictures on Instagram and send texts about them as opposed to leaving comments, since the last time Steve left a heart eye emoji on a picture of Bucky holding his cat, Bucky’s mom followed Steve and asked about their relationship. Steve found it flattering and Bucky found it mortifying. Bucky also quickly learned the merit of having a private profile after his pictures were posted to a stolen valor account. He gave the owner of the account a thorough dressing down and reported it. Steve was on the side of finding the man and asking him what the hell was wrong with him. 

_ ‘Buck, thats not cool tho! He should be reported to like… the army police!’ _

_ ‘Military police don’t deal with that kind of thing, Steve’ _

_ ‘WELL THEY SHOULD. ISNT IT ILLEGAL?!?’ _

Bucky reassured him that it wasn’t that deep and Steve kind of dropped it.

And it made Bucky even more smitten.

Smitten enough to talk about Steve during his weekly-ish pasta night with his two best friends.

“So, tell me more of your blooming romance, James!” Thor boomed, mouth full of garlic bread and wine.

“Close your damn mouth, you heathen.” Sam groused. Bucky jeered in agreement and Thor smiled with his puffy cheeks, because not only is he a heathen, but he is also a child. 

“It’s not so much a romance as it is a very mutual crush,” Sam answers when Bucky opens and closes his mouth multiple times, fumbling for an answer and blushing from his hairline to his collar. He scooped a mouthful of pasta and bread into his mouth and chewed rapidly, trying to encourage his blood to disperse to other places than his face. Thor laughed jovially and Sam continued. “They text all the time, man. And you know Bucky ain’t into his phone all like that.”

“Indeed! Bucky very rarely answers my texts unless it’s about plans we’ve already made!” Thor marvels and twirls his fork aggressively in the noodles and sauce, splattering the napkin on his shirt.

“Ayo, chill, my dude! With all that splashing and shit!” Sam crowed, shirking away from the crossfire of tomato sauce. Bucky took a deep breath and sat down his fork.

“His name is Steve and he’s a tattoo artist in Brooklyn. We met at the library and he’s really… cool.” Bucky trying very hard to hide his admiration for Steve in front of his friends. What he really wanted to say was ‘Stevie is the cutest person I’ve ever seen and I want him to sit in my lap while he draws and I want to make him matzo ball soup and keep him warm and safe.’

“He’s just cool, yet you blush.” Thor questions sagely, contemplating the meatball on his fork. Sam smirked at Bucky over his wine glasses and Bucky groaned.

“Okay, so he’s talented and cool. And maybe I find him attractive!”

“See, was that so hard, buddy?” Sam patted Bucky on top of his head and went back to eating his food. Thor snickered and Bucky glared at the two of them, blush tainting the menacing look on his face. 

“Why am I even friends with you assholes?”

Well, the story of their friendship was simple and mildly entertaining. Thor served at the same time as Bucky and came back stateside a couple of weeks after him, sent home with a gnarly facial injury that resulted in his losing an eye. They ended up in the same rehabilitation center for Stark prosthetics and when they left, Thor had a new eye, Bucky had a new arm, and the two of them had a new brother in arms. Sam was thrown into the mix after breaking up a fight between Thor, Bucky, and a disrespectful vet making homophobic comments at the VA Pride celebration. He admonished all of the men for their actions and kicked them all out, but gave Bucky and Thor some mighty handshakes as they left the building. 

Sam sent Bucky and Thor emails to join the anger management group sessions. Upon their arrival, they realized that this wasn’t a therapy session but was instead Sam with a box of donuts and some cheap coffee in his office.

“I definitely don’t condone what you did, but I admire and respect it. I’m Sam Wilson and I think we need to be friends.” Sam was grinning so hard that his gap was clear and visible against his pink gums. Thor and Bucky made a face at one another and dove headfirst into this new friendship.

So now, the three of them have pasta nights at Sam’s because he has the biggest kitchen, football happens at Thor’s apartment because he has the biggest TV, and brunch happens at Bucky’s apartment because he has all the fancy coffee equipment.

“We’re friends because we both had to buy our body parts in the same place,” Thor stated in a matter of fact way.

“We’re friends because I always fuck with people who defend themselves.” Sam shrugged. “And besides, I’m handsome and you surely couldn’t resist me!”

“Sam, I tried to kiss you drunk one fucking time!” Bucky tossed his head back into the couch they were sitting at and smacked his head with his metal hand, earning a loud groan. Sam and Thor are such good friends that they at least asked if he was okay before laughing at him.

***

The day was fucking dragging at the shop. Wanda was out on her lunch and Tony was hungover somewhere in Hell’s Kitchen, so it was just Peggy and Steve, but Peggy was busy with a client. so Steve was left to entertain himself. His next appointment wasn’t for another two hours and he had already drunk two coffees and Peggy wouldn’t let him get another for fear of his heart exploding. He stopped smoking years ago at his mother’s behest, so he couldn’t take a smoke break, and he didn’t want to draw anything because all he could seem to draw lately was Bucky’s pretty eyes.

Honestly, he wanted to invite Bucky over. What they would do varied in Steve’s mind from playing canasta to playing tonsil hockey, but Bucky was so shy they wouldn’t probably end up texting and sitting on opposite sides of the room. Steve settled for scrolling Twitter and answering DMs about the appointment and rearranging the meme folder on his phone. Luckily for him, Natasha decided to come by the shop and play Spotify DJ for the afternoon, playing music loud enough to drown out the moaning of Peggy’s current victim, who was sitting through her 2 hours of a thigh piece.

“What’s got you so dour today, Steve?” Natasha was laid out on the couch in the lobby, feet dangling over the arm, playing on her phone and casting a sideways glance to Steve, who was pouting in the large purple velvet armchair in the corner of the shop.

“I’m just… I don’t know. I think I miss Bucky.” Steve huffed and pouted harder, shoulders rolling inward.

“Sit up straight and stop whining,” Natasha muttered, sitting up on the couch. “You could always just… I don’t know… ask him out. Ask him to come over. Ask to have his babies.”

“Ew, childbearing.” 

“I’m serious, Steve! When are you going to stop being a baby and ask him out?” Natasha flung a pillow across the room and hit Steve square in the nose, causing him to squawk.

“He’s fucking shy! I don’t want to scare him away!”

“Steven, quit moping and ask that nice young man on a date already!” Peggy called from her booth in the shop, accompanied by a breathy and high pitched moan. Peggy could be heard faintly as she gently shushed her client and muttered soft encouragements.

“Yes, Mommy.” Steve’s voice took on a bratty, nasally quality as he huffed out of the big purple chair.

“Listen, bitch. If he can survive coffee with Peggy and get her seal of approval, you can hear his balls of steel clanging from all the way over here. He’s not made of glass.” Natasha rolled her eyes and threw another pillow at Steve, but he dodged that one.

“I just don’t want to make him uncomfortable. Also, like, I really don’t want to have the whole ‘by the way, I don’t have a dick’ conversation! I like the way things are going now.” Steve was a little quieter in this admission. Dating was hard enough, but when you added the facet of gender discussion to the mix, it could literally become a matter of life or death. Natasha’s face softened and she wrapped an arm around Steve’s shoulders and squeezed.

“I’m sorry, Steve. I know you’re scared, but I highly doubt James is going to be anything like Brock.”

“I know! But that doesn’t make it less scary. I just… I like him. I want him to like me too.”

Natasha nodded and hugged Steve a little tighter.

“I think you should give it a chance. You'll never know until you try? And besides, don’t you think Peggy scared him into behaving?”

“I most certainly did!”

Peggy walked to the front of the shop, her client following behind her in a trance-like state, eyes glazed over and shoulders slumped. Peggy handed over some tattoo lotion samples and patted the dazed victim on the cheek with a chipper ‘off you go!’. Steve snickered as the poor soul stumbled out the door.

“It’s not nice to engage in that kind of BDSM without aftercare, Pegs.” Steve leered

“I’m not that kind of mistress, but imagine the killing I would make,” Peggy smirked, sticking her very large cash tip into her tip box and flipping her hair. “And on the subject of James, the only evil thing about him that’s evil is the way he drinks his tea. What kind of monster puts jam and cream in tea?”

Steve huffed a laugh out and relaxed a little bit in Natasha’s hug. Natasha pats Steve’s back and Peggy joins her with a kiss on the crown of Steve’s head and an arm around his waist.

“Besides, I’ve already fielded all of his political and social opinions.”

“Peggy!”

“He’s not a libertarian or a vegan, he’s allergic to apathy, he’s a member of the Queer Veterans Coalition and he has a cat named Snow or something similar.”

“The cat’s name is Winter.” Steve rolled his eyes at his friend and went to set up for his next appointment.

“Certainly. Anyway, he doesn’t show any obvious signs of being a creep with a nice smile.” Peggy sniffed. Steve was only slightly annoyed with Peggy’s digging but ultimately grateful for it. He had declined her help with Brock only to end up in a 6-month relationship with the gaslighting bastard.

“Now brighten up, little love! Your appointment should be on their way!” Peggy smiled and gave Steve a final squeeze.

Steve was excited for his client today, he had been messaging her for weeks about the piece he was doing today. Today, it would be the death tarot card in the trans pride colors on the inside of her left bicep. Earlier in the year, Steve put the strength tarot card on the inside her right bicep in the pansexual pride colors. To sit through that kind of shading and line work on the inside of your arms? She was a fucking trooper, certainly.

As if the universe could hear Steve’s thoughts, his client stepped through the door of the shop, heavy-soled boots thumping against the tile of the floor.

“Maria, you’re here!”

“Yeah, sorry I’m a little early, I just figured it would come in and let you get a headstart, short stack.” Maria’s bright teeth we perfectly visible against her pink lips. Standing at a delicate 6’1”, Maria was built and strong, with thick thighs and a slight tummy outlined by her strong arms and chest. One side of her head was shaved and her eyebrows were impeccably shaped and severe. To the average person, she looked a little… well, mean. Then she unleashed a bold smile and loud laugh and she was understood to be a sweet person. 

“I’m not short, you’re just tall.” Steve groaned.

“Yes, I’m tall, but you are also short. Both of these facts can exist in the universe, Steve.” Maria slipped off her hat and let her hair out of the bun it sat in on the back of her head, letting it fall over her shoulders. Most people struggled with how to interact with her visibly because of her height and build, but she was never deterred from being the coolest person in the room.

Natasha was struggling with her appearance in a different way. In a ‘best friend or girlfriend’ kind of way. Steve parsed the look on Natasha’s face as Gay Panic™ and pulled Maria into his cubical to get started on her new tattoo.

“Nat, are you gonna come hang back here while I work?” Steve’s face was plastered with a shit-eating grin. Natasha started to give a curt dismissal and pick up her things before Maria interrupted her with a smile aimed in her direction.

“I’d never say no to talking to someone other than Steve for 3 hours.” Maria shrugged and winked at Nat. 

“Oh. Um, okay sure.” Natasha blushed faintly and followed them back to the cubicle so Steve could get started. 

***

“I think you need to ask him out, Bucky,” Sam concluded, scooping up the last of his store-bought tiramisu that Thor bought for dessert. “You’re never gonna get to kiss his nose and shit if you never ask him out.”

“Nose kisses are oddly specific, Wilson.” Bucky raised an eyebrow but seriously considered kissing Steve’s nose as he left for work in the morning, the small blond all sleep rumpled and warm for being in his bed. The thought alone was enough to make Bucky blush!

“Hey, nose kisses are my jam!” Sam defended himself “You ever been kissed on the nose when you’re mad? Try staying mad after that shit!”

“I can confirm that nose kisses are superior.” Thor agrees sagely.

“Well, be that as it may, what am I supposed to ask him out to? A movie and dinner. That sounds boring!”

“You just gotta ask him out. You can plan it when he says yes!” Thor cheered

“ _ If _ he says yes.” Bucky muttered.

“Just do it and whine about it later!” Sam punched Bucky in his metal arm on accident and howled.

“That’s what you fucking get!” Bucky cackled. Sam soothed his hand with the back of a cold beer can and sniffled a little from the pain. Thor got up to get another beer and maybe some ice for Sam’s hand. Sam followed him to whine about the pain and Bucky was left with his thoughts and his half-eaten dessert.

Maybe he should just do it. The worst thing Steve could say was no. 

Or,  _ “absolutely not you fucking weirdo”. _ But that may have been Bucky’s anxiety talking. He worked himself down and grabbed his phone. He snagged his phone and quickly wrote out a text: ‘hey steve. do you wanna get bubble tea this week?’

Just as he was going to triumphantly hit send, his finger slipped and he hit the send call button. Before he could realize what was happening, Steve’s soft voice answered on the other line.

“Hey, Bucky! What’s up!”

_ Shit. _

***

The session with Maria was quick and as painless as a tattoo could be. Natasha and Maria made consistent conversation and Maria only cried once but it was because of a joke and not the searing pain of an inner arm tattoo.

As Steve was wrapping Maria’s fresh ink, his phone started to chime in his back pocket. He made quick work of the gloves he was wearing and pulled the phone out to see Bucky’s name flash across the screen. Steve smiled widely and answered without hesitation.

“Hey, Bucky, what’s up?”

_ “Oh, uh… h-hey Stevie, I mean! Steve! Hello. Um. Hi” _

“Hi there, Buck.” Steve blushed at the nickname but tried not to look into it too much.

_ “Oh hey! Yeah so… um, do you like b-bubble boba?” _

“Yeah, I love bubble tea. Why?” Steve was grinning so wide his cheeks hurt.

_ “Um, we should boba this week. I mean, if you want to we can but if you don’t we don’t have to, like no pressure but there a place on Moldive and they have like pink boba which like if you dont like pink it's fine but-” _

“Are… you asking me out, Bucky?” Natasha and Peggy’s heads whipped around to wear Steve was sitting on the counter of the shop. Maria was putting on her coat and stopped almost immediately.   
_ “Is… is it working?” _

“Yes, it is. You wanna get boba on Thursday?” Natasha whooped silently and gave Peggy a hearty high five.

_ “Uh… yes please?” _

“Cool, then I’ll see you on Thursday.”

_ “Yeahbye!” _

Steve hung up and put down his phone before breaking into the most vicious and uncoordinated dance the world has ever seen. Natasha put on “Juice” by Lizzo and they all danced in celebration until someone came in and asked for a lip tattoo that said “Cum Here”, which sufficiently stopped the party but didn’t dampen the excitement.

Steve was going on a date!

With Bucky!

***

“Did you just… call Steve and ask him out?” Thor asked incredulously from where he was watching in the doorway of the kitchen.

“Yeah.” Bucky whimpered.

“And did he say yes?” Sam asked, sitting beside him on the couch.  
“Yeah.” Bucky looked fit to vomit, he was so pale.

Sam and Thor looked at each other and cheered so loud the neighbors came and threatened them. The two other men hugged Bucky around the neck and shook him with delight. When Bucky finished panicking, he smiled weakly. He was finally going on a date with Steve!

Fuck.

He was going on a  _ date _ .

With  _ Steve _ !

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm trying to have this on a semi regular schedule of posting so... we will see how that goes!


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